Šime has migrated to Croatia

31. January 2013

In the middle of December the shag Šime migrated to Croatia. It was roaming in Slovenian sea until 17th December. Its migration took two days. The first day it traveled along the Istrian coast and roosted on a small island nearby island Fenera by the cape Kamenjak. Next day it migrated further to the straits between islands Molat and Sestrunj in the Zadar archipelago where it has stayed since then. It roosts on two small islands and during the day it mostly roams by uninhabited coast at the NW of island Sestrunj.

Two-day migration of the shag Šime (lines connect successive locations recorded by GPS and not the actual path of the Shag)

It’s not known whether it is breeding there, but most probably not yet this year. Before migration it was not in breeding plumage yet, which is common for this time of the year for the sexually mature individuals.

The shag Šime is staying near Croatian island Sestrunj during the winter (photo is symbolic).

Šime’s movements in November while it was still staying at slovenian sea were similar to those in October: it has been traveling between Debeli rtič and Strunjan and it has been roosting on the buoys of maricultures near Debeli rtič. Differently, it moved more to the south by the end of November, staying between Strunjan and Piran and roosting on the buoys of maricutures near Strunjan, from where it eventually departed to Croatia.